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Saturday, September 14, 2013

ONE OF THE CAMELLIAS WE MOVED FROM MUM'S GARDEN TO OURSIT IS MUCH HAPPIER HERE WHERE IT IS SHELTERED WINDS OFF THE SEA

You may not consider this piece of information world shattering but for me it was a gob-smacking, jaw dropping revelation about the fat cells accumulated over the years.

I am pretty certain that I have always understood that once you have a fat cell it never goes away. This is bad news, especially for younger people who might have been fat babies or become obese children which is all too common these days. It seems to me that it has been one of the reasons used to explain why people tend to yo-yo in their weight loss. And it could have been one of the reasons cited for the poor rate of permanent weight loss. The statistics are very poor in that only 5 % people are reported to maintain their weight loss beyond 5 years. There are many other reasons for poor results of permanent weight loss including people not wanting to remain vigilant long term, or make permanent changes to their lifestyle and returning to the eating habits that made them fat.

I don't know about you, but saying that only a small percentage have long term success, has a negative affect on my brain and emotions. Why bother to lose weight if I am unlikely to keep it off? Certainly my experience over nearly 60 years of various diets gave me no indication things could be different.. Fortunately I have found a way of eating which gives me confidence that something has changed. I expect my fat loss to be permanent this time around. Of course I have the added incentive of age. My health and enjoyment of life into my latter years depends on maintaining a healthy weight among other things.

But Hear This! Apparently fat cells die after 10 years of maintained weight loss. Is that good news or not?

I was listening to this podcast on Jimmy Moore's Ask The Experts and I nearly dropped my cup of coffee, I was so surprised. The comment is about 1 hour 9-10 minutes in and was almost a throw away as though we should all know this. Well I did not!!!! It was great news and another example of the ability our bodies have to heal itself given the right support.

Now I know I only need to maintain my current weight for another 9 years and fat cells will give up and die. They will not be there, begging to be filled up with fat once more. I will only be 84 years old with lots of living ahead.... God willing.

Ten years to wait may seem like a long time but if you are, say 25, and have been fat for many years, you are a great age to lose weight. You are young enough that your body is not totally messed up and weight loss and suitable exercise usually comes more easily to the young, and now you have the knowledge that before you are 40 your body will have adjusted to being slim and the fat cells will have reduced through die off. That sounds like a good reason to begin losing weight ASAP.

I guess it is a funny piece of the weight loss jigsaw but it gives me another incentive to get rid of as much fat as possible as smartly as possible and keep it off.

A couple of other neat things I am noticing.

It is easier to exercise. It's not just a matter of fitness but ease of movement and I do not get out of breath as quickly. I'm sure I am extremely unfit by most people's measurements but yesterday I complete 30 minutes on the cross-trainer, (zero resistance), went straight into 30 minutes of strength exercises, which I haven't done for years, followed by 30 minutes of stretching to improve my flexibility. I was amazed that I did all this and still felt fine at the end. In fact the stretching was quite relaxing. I can feel a few muscles have worked hard but there are no ill effects today and my plan is to repeat all of this in 4 days time. For a couch potato this was also a revelation to me. I can do it Yay!!!

It's getting easier to eat the way I have chosen which is low carbohydrate, high fat and moderate protein within a calorie limit. I know all the LCHF gurus say you don't need to count calories but if you look at who they are you soon find out they are young and fit. By young, I mean they all seem to be about 30 years younger than me and most of them are men too. We women all know how much easier it is for men to lose weight and develop strong muscles. We are different in case you hadn't noticed.

At last I am finding my sustainable lifestyle. It has taken me some time to work this out. I began experimenting back in April or May putting together all the knowledge I had gleaned over the years and more recently through the explosion of information on the internet. Learning about nutritional ketosis was a turning point. While I still have a lot to learn about what this means for me. I cannot imagine eating my old way. I shudder when I think of eating cereals. I may be adding fat in strange ways right now but that's all part of experimenting until I find the right balance and how it should fit into everyday life. I feel good and while I would never recommend that anyone follows my example, eating more fat than I ever thought possible is working out well for me right now.

Sometimes I shake my head in wonder. Is this really me drinking coffee laced with coconut oil or drinking a green smoothie? The coconut oil has more to do with some health issues I am dealing with. Coconut oil is reputed to have many healing qualities, particularly when it comes to gut and skin issues. I keep hoping it will work but it could take a year or more to see the improvement I'm looking for. When I first read about Green Monsters or spinach in smoothies I thought people were off their rockers. Now I'm off my rocker! Not everyone likes smoothies but they have worked well for me for years and I have always noticed that a smoothie seemed to always accompany feeling good and loosing weight.

Whizz it all together until it looks a bit like a milk shake. I drink it through a straw.

Without the berries I get a pretty pale green. without the spinach I get various shades of pink, depending on the berries. Put the two together and it's a not quite so pretty, more like coffee latte. It still tastes good and just as all the people have been saying, you do not taste the spinach.

I cannot tell you how good it feels to know that I am finding a way to eat that continues to promote weight loss, makes me feel healthy, and is sustainable in my real life.

THE AVON NEAR THE CHRISTCHURCH CBDTHIS TIME NEXT WEEK WE WILL BE IN CHRISTCHURCH FOR THE NEXT FIVE WEEKS

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Jimmy Moore said the community had won their battle but a news search brought this up for September 9th 2013. These people have been working so hard to have what they want for their community but it's a tough battle against Big Bucks. What is happening in our world when concerned and honest people cannot protect their community from unwanted commercialism that they consider socially and morally detrimental? It reminds me of some of the community battles going on in New Zealand, Brothels in family residential areas, Liquor too close to schools, Pokies in every club, legal/illegal harmful Drugs sold in what once were innocent dairies.

The world is full of unscrupulous people and it's no wonder there are many who turn to the extreme right which of course is little better when you look into their tactics and methods.

I generally keep away from political argument these days. It seems so fruitless yet here is a bunch of people in Tecoma, Victoria, Australia who are willing to protect their town. Sadly it has become a bitter fight.

Personally I have nothing against McDonald's because I doubt if I go there once in three years but ...... more and more people are depending on them for all kinds of reasons.

Perhaps a better way is to improve our nutritional education and teach our children how to cook real food that's fast and probably cheaper too.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

WHERE TO NOW?

I am despondent. I have fallen out of nutritional ketosis. I increased my calories and thus carbs and proteins and my Fasting blood ketones dropped to 0.2 today in spite of reining things in yesterday. That is ridiculously low. Added to that I am hungry. I could eat a horse. Not right now because I've just finished my high fat Keto Coffee. I have two cups of medium strength coffee with 30 gm coconut oil and 50 gm coconut milk whizzed together to make a palatable drink. I often add in up to 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon too. It's not a drink I crave but I have noticed that the days I change things I do not feel as good so it stays except when I decide to take a break from coffee for a few days now and then.

My Keto Coffee in the mornings and my version of a yoghurt and CLO smoothie at lunch are part of my normal routine when at home and I can continue this most of the time when we are away. These two 'meals' alone give me 735 calories, 14 gm carb, 29 gm protein and 63 gm fat for basic ratio of 7.5% carb: 16% protein: 76.5% fat before I add in my snacks and dinner. I adjust the smoothie by reducing the yoghurt and berries when I'm Fat Fasting. Usually I do not have many snacks in a day. Maybe cheese or an HB egg, a few almonds and a chocolate fat bomb, occasionally I'll have peanut butter or cream cheese on celery. Dinner is the only place I have veggies. Now that summer is coming this will often be a salad of lettuce and a few other bits and pieces.

As I write this I can see where I can be more vigilant and thoughtful in my choices without starving. I have most flexibility around snacks and dinner.

Checking back to see what I was doing when I hit my lowest weight of 80.2 kg/ lbs, which is 2.7 kg/ lbs less than yesterday, I can see that my morning fasting blood ketones went to 2.6.

The following is an example of what I was doing.

I was 100% a couch potato and eating 1000 calories from 11 gm Carb, 14 gm Protein and 100 gm Fat I cannot call this healthy even if it did raise ketones and reduce my weight.

Breakfast:-Keto coffee

Dinner:- Bone Broth, Jelly Whip made with WW jelly and whipped cream.

Snacks:- Pork Crackling, (20 gm), Peanut, and Chocolate Fat Bomb

While it was not a terrible menu for that day it is not exactly the healthiest with no green veggies at all. The goal is to be Healthy. I am frustrated. Does good health mean I cannot loose more weight?

At the same time I am determined to get myself back into ketosis so for the next few days I am going to Fat Fast once more. I'll see how that goes.

One thing I will try, not today because we are almost out of veggies, is a green smoothie by adding spinach into my lunch.

LATER

I think I've worked out what I will do. I feel more settled in myself.

We had a lovely sunny day but there was still too much wind for me to enjoy being outside for more than a few minutes at a time.

A phone call from the Eye Clinic at Waikato Hospital late this afternoon was kind of annoying. I told them months ago we would be away from September 20th to the end of October .... Why can they not make a note of such things? First the woman said she had a place for me on Sept. 23rd and when I said that would not work she suggested October 5th.

She ended the call by wishing us a nice holiday. I didn't tell her we were not going away for a holiday. None of her business but it did kind of grate that she assumed we would be on holiday. We would not be making all these trips to Christchurch if it weren't for our son in prison. This time we are also Kitty-sitting which just takes the pressure of a lengthy stay with our other son and his wife. Of course we try to make the most of our time down South but it's really not all that different to being at home. We both have very mixed feelings about these trips. We look forward to them and dread them at the same time.

I am to call the hospital the week before we come home again. Hopefully I will have the operation before Christmas .... maybe.

Friday, September 6, 2013

I have other posts pending but this one seemed more important right now.

I tend to be a 'stress merchant.'

Many years ago I told my minister that I function best when under stress. I work best when on the last minute to deadline. I always enjoyed the pressure that made me get going and leave procrastination behind. I liked having so many things on my plate that I had to stay on focus to get things done. I liked lists and being able to tick stuff off one after the other. I liked challenges.

Roll through the years and suddenly it seemed stress became my enemy. My body refused to co-operate with my mind and there was a major breakdown. Many things contributed. In three short years my father, brother, mother-in-law, a young aunt and my grandmother died, Cancer being the cause. I became pregnant with our fourth child, our family business was failing and we were in a difficult financial position. Many other 'smaller' things, part of life in general, were going on. I suddenly found I was unable to function as I was used to. After several years a doctor who looked at things differently diagnosed me with ME or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. They were tough years. I was mostly a Zombie. Slowly I recovered with great determination, more rest than I wanted, gradually increasing my movement and activity levels and trying out a Stone Age diet. If the Wheat Belly book had been around then I might have shortened my recovery period to a single year instead of 5 or 6 years with a continuing need to monitor my activities and pace myself.

Roll on a few more years and other seriously stressful situations entered our lives. I ate, especially bread and cake, to cover my stress and pain. The exact opposite of what is helpful. I learned that you can deplete your adrenals or end up with adrenal fatigue but I had no answers as to how to reverse this. By this time I was a 'Born Again Christian,' with a powerful faith. Traumatic memories, emotional and spiritual and even some physical healings began. I found worship, music and dance and the joy that comes with this kind of fellowship extremely helpful. I also found that the best meetings, the ones I enjoyed the most, left me drained and exhausted for days. I did not think this was right but had no answers.

Over the years I went from a normal weight to extremely fat in spite of all my efforts to eat and live a healthy life. I searched and learned and finally discovered the value of a low carb diet. More recently I found that wheat is not my friend and that certain fats, such as animal fats and coconut oil, are my friends. A huge learning curve began to take place in my understanding of how our bodies crave a certain type of nutrition. I lost weight quickly before going into what feels like a seventeen month plateau. My weight loss has not completely stalled but it is beginning to feel as though I might have to be satisfied with where I am. That's not what I want. I am not at a weight which is optimally healthy for me.

I am not willing to stop here. I began to ask why but there were no answers until perhaps today when I watched this video.

There are so many things going on in our lives which cause stress. I do not know anyone who is facing as much as we are at this time. It's not helpful nor wise to go into detail here but believe me I am not exaggerating. I know there are people who face worse stuff than us but I don't know how they manage their lives. My concern is how do I manage better and how do I handle my stress level so that it no longer hinders weight loss and my pleasure in living?

Perhaps this video tells the story. Stop being afraid of stress and embrace it. I guess to some extent I have learned to do this or I would not be here now. I have more to learn, attitudes to change and more personal growth to experience.

Fear is a destroyer of life. Perfect love casts out all fear. Surely if I can find the strength to adjust my attitude to all the stressors in my life I will be a winner. The truth sets us free. This looks like truth to me.

"THE PAIN OF DISCPLINE OR THE PAIN OF REGRET AND DISAPPOINTMENT" - IT'S MY CHOICE

DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM

About Me

I am in my 78th year and live in New Zealand. In 2013 my husband, John, and I spent our 50th Wedding Anniversary in Hawaii. We have a major trip to North America planned for 2018
I have a long history of losing and gaining weight. I first began keeping an on-line journal around 2000 as a way to record my weight loss and quest for better health.
We moved to Christchurch in December 2015 to be near our only Grandchild. Ava -Jane is a wonderful gift to our family.
Life is full of the unexpected.
I am all about having some fun times this year.